Footwear having a double-density insole

ABSTRACT

A footwear includes an insole having a first layer for the contact of the sole of a user&#39;s foot and a second layer bonded to the first layer at a bottom side. The first layer comprises a base and a plurality of ribs raised from a top side of said base and has a hardness greater than the second layer. An outsole bonds to the bottom side of the insole for contacting the ground. When a user wearing the footwear is paddling, the insole is elastically deformed and the ribs are elastically curved to buffer the pressure applied by the user, enhancing wearing comfort.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to footwear and more particularly, to footwear with a double-hardness insole that offers wearing comfort.

2. Description of the Related Art

A footwear generally comprises an insole, an outsole and an upper vamp. The insole is for direct contact with the sole of the user's foot. The outsole is bonded to the bottom side of the insole for contacting the ground. The upper vamp defines with the insole an accommodation space for accommodating the user's foot.

Normally, the outsole has a relatively higher hardness to provide a wear resistant property and a support function. The insole has a relatively lower hardness to buffer the pressure from the sole of the user's foot. However, this design is quite simple and cannot satisfy the user's demand for conform wearing. Therefore, an improvement in this regard is necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a footwear, which has a double-density insole that is elastically deformable to offer wearing comfort.

To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, a footwear comprises an insole and an outsole bonded to the bottom side of the insole. The insole comprises a first layer for the contact of the sole of a user's foot and a second layer bonded to the first layer at the bottom side. The first layer comprises a base and a plurality of ribs raised from the top side of the base. The first layer has a hardness greater than the second layer. The first layer of the insole has a hardness within the range of 35˜40 and the second layer of the insole has a hardness within the range of 25˜30 when they are measured by a hardness meter in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standards JIS S 6050 or Japan Rubber Association SRIS 0101. When the sole of the user's foot touches the insole, the second layer is compressed and elastically deformed to buffer the pressure applied by the user, and at the same time the ribs of the first layer of the insole are elastically curved subject to the direction of pressure applied by the user, enhancing the buffering effect and wearing comfort of the footwear

Other and further advantages and features of the present invention will be understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1˜3, a piece of footwear, for example, a paddle slipper 10 in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is shown comprising an insole 20, an outsole 30 and an upper vamp 40.

The insole 20 comprises a first layer 21 for direct contact with the sole of the user's foot, and a second layer 22 bonded to the bottom side of the first layer 21. The second layer 22 is a flat sheet member. The first layer 21 has a base 212 and a plurality of ribs 214 raised from the top side of the base 212. The ribs 214 extend transversely from the left side of the insole 20 to the right side thereof and equally spaced. The distance L between the peak of each rib 214 and the base 212 is about 2˜4 mm. The first layer 21 and second layer 22 of the insole 20 can be made from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer), PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). However, the material for the first layer 21 has a relatively higher density than the material for the second layer 22. Further, the first layer 21 has a relatively greater hardness than the second layer 22. When measured the insole 20 with a hardness meter in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standards JIS S 6050 or Japan Rubber Association SRIS 0101, the measured data shows the hardness of the first layer 21 and the second layer 22 to be 37 and 28 respectively. However, the manufacture can freely adjust the hardness of the insole 20 during fabrication. In actual tests, the hardness of the first layer 21 is preferably within the range of 3540; the hardness of the second layer 22 is preferably within the range of 2530; the difference between the hardness of the first layer 21 and the hardness of the second layer 22 is preferably within the range of 5˜10.

The outsole 30 comprises a partition layer 31 bonded to the bottom side of the second layer 22 of the insole 20, and a bottom layer 32 bonded to the bottom side of the partition layer 31. The partition layer 31 is a flat sheet member having through mounting holes 312. The bottom layer 32 consists of five small outsole elements 322 and four relatively thicker block members 324. The block members 324 are respectively connected between each two adjacent outsole elements 322 such that the outsole 30 defines in proper order from the front side toward the rear side a front open zone 33, a front support zone 34, a rear support zone 35 and a rear open zone 36, wherein the front support zone 34 comprises two front protruding blocks 342 for direct contact with the ground and a front recess 344 formed between the two front protruding blocks 342; the rear support zone 35 comprises two rear protruding blocks 352 for direct contact with the ground and a rear recess 354 formed between the two rear protruding blocks 352.

The upper vamp 40 is arranged at the top side of the insole 20, comprising three mounting portions 42 respectively fastened to the mounting holes 312 of the partition layer 31 of the outsole 30. The upper vamp 40 defines with the outsole 30 an accommodation space for accommodating the user's foot so that the user's foot will not be separated from the footwear 10 when walking.

When a user wearing the footwear 10 is paddling, the specific design of the outsole 30 avoids the sole of the user's foot from being wetted by water easily and effectively releases the pressure from the user's foot, enabling the user to walk smoothly and comfortably. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 4, when the sole of the user's foot touches the insole 20, the second layer 22 is compressed and elastically deformed to buffer the pressure applied by the user through the sole of the user's foot. Further, the ribs 214 of the first layer 21 of the insole 20 are elastically curved subject to the direction of pressure applied by the user, enhancing the buffering effect and wearing comfort of the footwear 10.

Further, the insole 20 can also be used in other footwear, for example, oxford shoe, as shown in FIG. 5. Further, the upper vamp 40 and the outsole 30 may be variously configured to fit different types of footwear. Further, the ribs 214 of the insole 20 can be made to extend longitudinally from the front side to the rear side, or to extend in any of a variety of other directions.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A footwear, comprising: an insole having a first layer for the contact of the sole of a user's foot and a second layer bonded to said first layer at a bottom side, said first layer comprising a base and a plurality of ribs raised from a top side of said base, said first layer having a hardness greater than said second layer; and an outsole bonded to said insole at a bottom side for contacting the ground.
 2. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first layer of said insole has a hardness within the range of 35˜40 when measured by a hardness meter in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standards JIS S 6050 or Japan Rubber Association SRIS
 0101. 3. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second layer of said insole has a hardness within the range of 2530 when measured by a hardness meter in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standards JIS S 6050 or Japan Rubber Association SRIS
 0101. 4. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between the peak of each said rib and the base of said first layer is about 2˜4 mm.
 5. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said rib extends transversely from a left side of said insole to a right side thereof.
 6. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ribs of said first layer of said insole are equally spaced.
 7. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outsole comprises a front support zone and a rear support zone, said front support zone comprising two front protruding blocks for contacting the ground and a recess defined between said two front protruding blocks.
 8. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said outsole comprises a front support zone and a rear support zone, said rear support zone comprising two rear protruding blocks for contacting the ground and a recess defined between said two rear protruding blocks.
 9. The footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first layer and said second layer of said insole show a hardness difference within the range of 5˜10 when measured with a hardness meter in conformity with Japanese Industrial Standards JIS S 6050 or Japan Rubber Association SRIS
 0101. 